Friday Video #41: The Human League

Twenty-five years ago this month "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League hit #1 on the US pop charts. Funny that Americans (including myself) think of this as one of the ultimate summer songs, considering that it had previously hit #1 in Britian around Christmas 1981. DYWM would lead the way for British dance-wave acts getting on US radio, and the video (directed by Steve Barron) would become a staple on the fledging MTV. The song has become a New Wave classic, and still gets played quite a bit. (BTW the song recently turned up in a Chips Ahoy commercial without the band's consent.)

Above is the offical promo video, and below is a clip of the Human League performing on Top Of The Pops back on December 24, 1981. I think that it's kind of strange to see the band perform with Christmas trees on the stage in the later clip, since I'm more likely to think of the beach when I hear this.